Golf club head and method of fabricating striking plate

ABSTRACT

A golf club head including a head body and a striking plate is provided. The head body has an opening. The striking plate having a striking surface includes a plate body and at least a low-elastic-modulus region. The plate body disposed at the opening has a first surface exposed to the outside. The low-elastic-modulus region disposed in the plate body has a second surface exposed to the outside. The striking surface is composed of the first surface and the second surface. The elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than that of the plate body. A method of fabricating a striking plate is also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan applicationserial no. 95141128, filed Nov. 7, 2006. All disclosure of the Taiwanapplication is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a golf club head and a methodof fabricating a striking plate, and more particular, to a golf clubhead with a striking plate having a low-elastic-modulus region and amethod of fabricating the striking plate.

2. Description of Related Art

Along with the popularization of sport lifestyle in the modern society,the golf sport has become one of the most favourite sports of the peoplefor a long time, and the participating population is growing rapidly.Golf clubs may be classified into some types, namely wooden club, ironclub, putter and so on, according to different golf course typographyand different purposes.

The wooden club has a golf club head usually composed of a head bodymade of a metal or carbon fiber and a striking plate joined with thehead body for striking balls. In order to exhibit the expectedcontrollability of golf balls and achieve the optimum ball-strikingefficiency, a golf club head is designed according to a specificspecification including dimension and weight limitations. Therefore, toachieve the optimum design of a golf club head, the basic architecturesof the head body and the striking plate and the joining structurethereof are focused to modify appropriately.

The region with a high coefficient of restitution (COR) of thehomogeneous striking plate with uniform thickness is usually located ata central region thereof. The COR of a striking plate would be graduallyreduced with the increasing distance from the central region. It shouldbe noted that the larger the high-COR region of the striking plate of agolf club head is, the better the striking effect of the striking plateof a golf club head is. Therefore, the striking plates of someconventional golf club heads are designed to have a thinner thickness topromote the striking restitution capability. However, such aconventional design may reduce the durability of the striking plate, andthe striking plate may get damaged after a long time of striking as thethickness is reduced. How to simply and effectively promote the strikingrestitution capability without degrading the durability of a strikingplate has become an important issue.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a golf club head with a strikingplate having a larger high-COR region.

The present invention is also directed to a method of fabricating thestriking plate, so as to enlarge the high-COR region of the strikingplate.

The present invention provides a golf club head, which includes a headbody and a striking plate. The head body has an opening, and thestriking plate has a striking surface. The striking plate includes aplate body and at least a low-elastic-modulus region. The plate body isdisposed at the opening and has a first surface exposed to the outside.The low-elastic-modulus region is disposed in the plate body, whereinthe low-elastic-modulus region has a second surface exposed to theoutside, the striking surface is composed of the first surface and thesecond surface, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulusregion is smaller than that of the plate body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the elastic modulus of theplate body may be greater than or equal to 100 GPa.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the absolute differencebetween the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region and thatof the plate body may be greater than or equal to 10 GPa.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the depth of thelow-elastic-modulus region may be smaller than or equal to 2 mm.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials, wherein theplate body comprises a titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials, wherein thelow-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. Thelow-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy which is aTi-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76% titanium, 15%vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in percentage weightcomposition.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body may have atleast a cavity exposed to the outside, wherein the depth of the cavityis smaller than the thickness of the plate body and the cavity is filledwith the low-elastic-modulus region.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body may have atleast a cavity exposed to the outside, wherein the depth of the cavityis smaller than the thickness of the plate body and the cavity is filledwith the low-elastic-modulus region. An extension surface of the firstsurface over the cavity may be coplanar with the second surface.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body may have atleast a cavity exposed to the outside, wherein the depth of the cavityis smaller than the thickness of the plate body and the cavity is filledwith the low-elastic-modulus region. Besides, the depth of the cavitymay be smaller than or equal to 2 mm.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body may have atleast a cavity exposed to the outside, wherein the depth of the cavityis smaller than the thickness of the plate body and the cavity is filledwith the low-elastic-modulus region. The cavity may have a regularshape.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body may have atleast a cavity exposed to the outside, wherein the depth of the cavityis smaller than the thickness of the plate body and the cavity is filledwith the low-elastic-modulus region. The cavity may have a regular shapeincluding circle, ellipse or a polygon.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body may have atleast a cavity exposed to the outside, wherein the depth of the cavityis smaller than the thickness of the plate body and the cavity is filledwith the low-elastic-modulus region. The cavity may have an irregularshape.

The present invention also provides a method of fabricating a strikingplate applicable to a golf club head. The method of fabricating thestriking plate includes the following steps. First, a plate body isprovided, wherein the plate body has at least a cavity and a firstsurface and the depth of the cavity is smaller than the thickness of theplate body. Next, a low-elastic-modulus material is disposed into thecavity. Next, the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity is heatedand melted. Next, the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity isannealed to form a low-elastic-modulus region, wherein thelow-elastic-modulus region has a second surface exposed to the outside,the first surface and the second surface together form a strikingsurface, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region issmaller than that of the plate body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, heating and melting thelow-elastic-modulus material in the cavity comprises irradiating thelow-elastic-modulus material with a high-energy laser beam.

In an embodiment of the present invention, heating and melting thelow-elastic-modulus material in the cavity comprises irradiating thelow-elastic-modulus material with an electron beam.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the low-elastic-modulusregion is formed, a surface treatment process may be performed on thestriking surface so that an extension surface of the first surface overthe cavity may be coplanar with the second surface.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the low-elastic-modulusregion is formed, a surface treatment process may be performed on thestriking surface so that an extension surface of the first surface overthe cavity may be coplanar with the second surface. The surfacetreatment process includes a grinding process.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the low-elastic-modulusregion is formed, a surface treatment process may be performed on thestriking surface so that an extension surface of the first surface overthe cavity may be coplanar with the second surface. The surfacetreatment process includes a polishing process.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. The plate bodycomprises a titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. Thelow-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. Thelow-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy which is aTi-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76% titanium, 15%vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in weight percentagecomposition.

The present invention also provides another method of fabricating astriking plate applicable to a golf club head. The method of fabricatingthe striking plate includes the following steps. First, a plate body isprovided, wherein the plate body has a first surface. Next, alow-elastic-modulus material is disposed on at least a part of the firstsurface. Next, the low-elastic-modulus material is heated and melted sothat at least a pair of the low-elastic-modulus material penetrates intothe plate body. Next, the low-elastic-modulus material is annealed toform at least a low-elastic-modulus region, wherein thelow-elastic-modulus region has a second surface exposed to the outside,the first surface and the second surface together form a strikingsurface, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region issmaller than that of the plate body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, heating and melting thelow-elastic-modulus material comprises irradiating thelow-elastic-modulus material with a high-energy laser beam.

In an embodiment of the present invention, heating and melting thelow-elastic-modulus material comprises irradiating thelow-elastic-modulus material with an electron beam.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the low-elastic-modulusregion is formed, a surface treatment process may be performed on thestriking surface so that an extension surface of the first surface overthe low-elastic-modulus region may be coplanar with the second surface.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the low-elastic-modulusregion is formed, a surface treatment process may be performed on thestriking surface so that an extension surface of the first surface overthe low-elastic-modulus region may be coplanar with the second surface.The surface treatment process includes a grinding process.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the low-elastic-modulusregion is formed, a surface treatment process may be performed on thestriking surface so that an extension surface of the first surface overthe low-elastic-modulus region may be coplanar with the second surface.The surface treatment process includes a polishing process.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. The plate bodycomprises a titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. Thelow-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body andlow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. Thelow-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy which is aTi-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76% titanium, 15%vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in weight percentagecomposition.

According to an aspect of the present invention, since the strikingplate of the present invention has the low-elastic-modulus region andthe COR of the low-elastic-modulus regions is relatively higher, andtherefore the striking plate of the present invention has acomparatively larger high-COR region. Furthermore, without degrading thedurability of the plate body, the low-elastic-modulus region in theplate body is formed by means of heating, melting and annealing thelow-elastic-modulus material, and therefore the high-COR region of thestriking plate can be effectively enlarged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic 3D exploded view of a golf club head according toa first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the striking plate in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the striking plate in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4A to 4D are schematic flowcharts illustrating the process offabricating the striking plate in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a striking plate according to asecond embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are schematic flowcharts illustrating the process offabricating the striking plate in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers areused in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or likeparts.

The First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic 3D exploded view of a golf club head according toa first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, thegolf club head 200 includes a head body 210 and a striking plate 220.The head body 210 has an opening 212, and the striking plate 220 isdisposed at the opening 212. The head body 210 and the striking plate220 form the golf club head 200. In the embodiment, the head body 210may be a shell, and integrally formed by a common metal material (e.g.,stainless steel) by way of lost-wax casing.

Obviously, the head body 210 in other embodiments of the presentinvention may also be made of a composite material of metal and amacromolecule plastic material or a high-strength fiber material (forexample, carbon fiber) and fabricated by the following steps. Forexample, a crown (not shown) is independently made by injection moldingor thermal compression molding in advance. Then, the crown is embeddedinto another part of the metal shell. In addition, the head body 210 maybe formed by pasting carbon fiber prepreg on the hollowed out region ofa metal shell and then by heating the carbon fiber prepreg in a moldwith an air bag.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the striking plate in FIG. 1. FIG. 3is a schematic side view of the striking plate in FIG. 1. Referring toFIGS. 2 and 3 the striking plate 220 has a striking surface 222 andincludes a plate body 224 and at least a low-elastic-modulus region 226(FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show two low-elastic-modulus regions 226,respectively). The plate body 224 is disposed at the opening 212 and hasat least a cavity 224 a exposed to the outside (FIGS. 1 and 2schematically show two cavities 224 a, respectively) and a first surface224 b exposed to the outside, wherein the depth D of each cavity issmaller than the thickness T of the plate body 224. In the embodiment,the cavities 224 a are usually located outside of the central region 224c of the plate body 224 and may be formed by a milling process.

The cavities 224 a are respectively filled with the low-elastic-modulusregions 226, wherein the quantity of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226may be the same as that of the cavities 224 a. Each of thelow-elastic-modulus regions 226 has a second surface 226 a exposed tothe outside. The first surface 224 b of the plate body 224 and thesecond surfaces 226 a together form the striking surface 222 of thestriking plate 220. The elastic modulus of each low-elastic-modulusregion 226 is smaller than that of the plate body 224.

It should be noted that the elastic modulus refers to Young's modulusand can be expressed in metric unit of Pascal or Pa. The elastic modulusof a material (usually, a mono metallic material or alloy) is inverselyproportional to the COR. In other words, the lower the elastic modulusof the above-mentioned material, the higher the COR of theabove-mentioned material is. In the embodiment, in addition to a higherCOR of the central region 224 c of the plate body 224 possesses, theCORs of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 of the striking plate 220are relatively higher as well, therefore, the striking plate 220 has alarger high-COR region as a whole.

In the embodiment, the elastic modulus of the plate body 224 may begreater than or equal to 100 GPa (100×10⁹ Pa), and the absolutedifference between the elastic modulus of each low-elastic-modulusregion 226 and that of the plate body 224 may be greater than or equalto 10 GPa. In addition, extension surfaces of the first surface 224 b ofthe plate body 224 over the cavities 224 a may be coplanar with thesecond surfaces 226 a of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226. In otherwords, the first surface 224 b and the second surfaces 226 a may besmoothly joined together. Besides, in the embodiment, the plate body 224and the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 comprise different materials,wherein the plate body 224 comprises a titanium alloy. In anotherembodiment, the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 comprises a β-typetitanium alloy, for example, Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composedof 76% titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin inweight percentage composition. Moreover, the depth D of each cavity maybe smaller than or equal to 2 mm.

In the embodiment, the cavities 224 a may have a regular shape, forexample, an ellipse. The cavities 224 a may have different shapesaccording to the designer's requirements, for example, circle orpolygon, even an irregular shape. Accordingly, the present invention isnot limited there-to as such.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, the head body 210 and the striking plate 220in the embodiment may be joined together by embedding and/or soldering.In more detail, prior to placing the striking plate 220, the joiningsurface between the head body 210 and the striking plate 220 are spreadthereon with solder. Then, the striking plate 220 is placed at theopening 212 of the head body 210, and then soldered such that the solderis melted and cooled, so as to form a bonding layer (not shown) forconnecting the head body 210 and the striking plate 220. In anotherembodiment, the striking plate 220 is disposed at the opening 212 of thehead body 210 first, and then the solder is spread on the seams at thebonding position between the head body 210 and the striking plate 220,and after the solder is melted into the bonding surfaces, a bondinglayer (not shown) is formed by cooling and solidification.

The fabrication of the head body 210 of the gold club head 200 and theassembling of the head body 210 with the striking plate 220 have beendescribed before. The method of fabricating the striking plate 220 isdescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 4A-4D. FIGS. 4A to 4D areschematic flowcharts illustrating the process of fabricating thestriking plate in FIG. 1, wherein only local cross-sectional views areshown in FIGS. 4A-4D for convenience. First, referring to FIG. 4A, aplate body 224 is provided, wherein the plate body 224 has a pluralityof cavities 224 a and a first surface 224 b, and the depth D of eachcavity is smaller than the thickness T of the plate body 224.

Next, referring to FIG. 4B, a low-elastic-modulus material M is disposedinto the cavities 224 a. In the embodiment, the volume of thelow-elastic-modulus material M in each cavity 224 a may be approximatelyequal to that of each cavity 224 a.

Next, referring to FIG. 4C, the low-elastic-modulus material M in thecavities 224 a is heated and melted by irradiating thelow-elastic-modulus material M with, for example, a high-energy laserbeam or an electron beam.

Next, referring to FIG. 4D, the low-elastic-modulus material M in thecavities 224 a is annealed to form a plurality of low-elastic-modulusregions 226. Each of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 has a secondsurface 226 a exposed to the outside. The first surface 224 b of theplate body 224 and the second surfaces 226 a together form a strikingsurface 222. The elastic modulus of each low-elastic-modulus region 226is smaller that that of the plate body 224. Thus, the fabrication of thestriking plate 220 is basically completed.

In another embodiment, after the low-elastic-modulus regions are formed,a surface treatment process, for example, grinding or polishing, may beperformed on the striking surface 222 so that extension surfaces of thefirst surface 224 b of the plate body 224 over the cavities 224 a may becoplanar with the second surfaces 226 a of the low-elastic-modulusregions 226. In other word, the first surface 224 b and the secondsurfaces 226 a may be smoothly joined together.

The Second Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a striking plate according to asecond embodiment of the present invention. The major difference betweenthe striking plate 320 in the second embodiment and the striking plate220 in the first embodiment is that the striking plate 320 of the secondembodiment has no cavities 224 a. The low-elastic-modulus regions 326are disposed in the plate body 324 by a penetrating process. The depthD′ of each low-elastic-modulus region 326 may be smaller than 2 mm.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are schematic flowcharts illustrating the process offabricating the striking plate in FIG. 5. First, referring to FIG. 6A, aplate body 324 with a first surface 324 b is provided. Next, referringto FIG. 6B, a low-elastic-modulus material M is disposed on at least apart of the first surface 324 b.

Next, referring to FIG. 6C, the low-elastic-modulus material M is heatedand melted by irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material M with, forexample, a high-energy laser beam or an electron beam so that at least apart of the low-elastic-modulus material M penetrates into the platebody 324. Next, referring to FIG. 6D, an annealing treatment isperformed on the low-elastic-modulus material M to form at least alow-elastic-modulus region 326. Each low-elastic-modulus region 326 hasa second surface 326 a exposed to the outside. The first surface 324 band the second surfaces 326 a together form a striking surface 322. Theelastic modulus of each low-elastic-modulus region 326 is smaller thanthat of the plate body 324. Thus, the fabrication of the striking plate320 is basically completed.

In another embodiment, a surface treatment process, for example,grinding or polishing, may be performed on the striking surface 322 sothat extension surfaces of the first surface 324 b of the plate body 324over the low-elastic-modulus regions 326 may be coplanar with the secondsurfaces 326 a of the low-elastic-modulus regions 326. In other words,the first surface 324 b and the second surfaces 326 a may be smoothlyjoined together.

In summary, the golf club head and the method of fabricating thestriking plate thereof of the present invention have at least thefollowing advantages.

1. Since the striking plate of the present invention has thelow-elastic-modulus regions and the COR of each low-elastic-modulusregion is relatively higher, the striking plate of the present inventionhas comparatively larger high-COR regions.

2. Without degrading the durability of the plate body, thelow-elastic-modulus regions in the plate body are formed by means ofheating, melting and annealing the low-elastic-modulus material, andtherefore the high-COR regions of the striking plate can be enlarged.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of the presentinvention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present inventioncover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fallwithin the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A golf club head, comprising: a head body, having an opening; and astriking plate, having a striking surface, comprising: a plate body,disposed at the opening and having a first surface exposed to theoutside; and at least a low-elastic-modulus region, disposed in theplate body, comprising a second surface exposed to the outside, whereinthe first surface of the plate body and the second surface of thelow-elastic-modulus region together form the striking surface of thestriking plate, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulusregion is smaller than that of the plate body.
 2. The golf club headaccording to claim 1, wherein the elastic modulus of the plate body isgreater than or equal to 100 GPa.
 3. The golf club head according toclaim 1, wherein the absolute difference between the elastic modulus ofthe low-elastic-modulus region and that of the plate body is greaterthan or equal to 10 GPa.
 4. The golf club head according to claim 1,wherein the depth of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than orequal to 2 mm.
 5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein theplate body and the low-elastic-modulus region comprise differentmaterials.
 6. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the platebody comprises titanium alloy.
 7. The golf club head according to claim5, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titaniumalloy.
 8. The golf club head according to claim 7, wherein thelow-elastic-modulus region comprises a Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloycomposed of 76% titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3%tin in weight percentage composition.
 9. The golf club head according toclaim 1, wherein the plate body comprises at least a cavity exposed tothe outside, and the depth of the cavity is smaller than the thicknessof the plate body, and the cavity is filled with the low-elastic-modulusregion.
 10. The golf club head according to claim 9, wherein anextension surface of the first surface over the cavity is coplanar withthe second surface.
 11. The golf club head according to claim 9, whereinthe depth of the cavity is smaller than or equal to 2 mm.
 12. The golfclub head according to claim 9, wherein the cavity has a regular shape.13. The golf club head according to claim 12, wherein the cavity has acircular, elliptical or polygonal shape.
 14. The golf club headaccording to claim 9, wherein the cavity has an irregular shape.
 15. Amethod of fabricating a striking plate, applicable to a golf club head,comprising: providing a plate body having at least a cavity and a firstsurface, wherein the depth of the cavity is smaller than the thicknessof the plate body; disposing a low-elastic-modulus material into thecavity; heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material in thecavity; and annealing the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity toform a low-elastic-modulus region, wherein the low-elastic-modulusregion has a second surface exposed to the outside, and the firstsurface of the plate body and the second surface of thelow-elastic-modulus region together form a striking surface, and theelastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than thatof the plate body.
 16. The method of fabricating a striking plateaccording to claim 15, wherein heating and melting thelow-elastic-modulus material in the cavity comprises irradiating thelow-elastic-modulus material with a high-energy laser beam.
 17. Themethod of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 15, whereinheating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavitycomprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with an electronbeam.
 18. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim15, further comprising performing a surface treatment process on thestriking surface of the striking surface after the low-elastic-modulusregion is formed so that an extension surface of the first surface ofthe plate body over the cavity is coplanar with the second surface ofthe low-elastic-modulus region.
 19. The method of fabricating a strikingplate according to claim 18, wherein the surface treatment processcomprises a grinding process.
 20. The method of fabricating a strikingplate according to claim 18, wherein the surface treatment processcomprises a polishing process.
 21. The method of fabricating a strikingplate according to claim 15, wherein the plate body and thelow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.
 22. The methodof fabricating a striking plate according to claim 21, wherein the platebody comprises a titanium alloy.
 23. The method of fabricating astriking plate according to claim 21, wherein the low-elastic-modulusregion comprises a β-type titanium alloy.
 24. The method of fabricatinga striking plate according to claim 23, wherein the low-elastic-modulusregion comprises a Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76%titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in weightpercentage composition.
 25. A method of fabricating a striking plate,applicable to a golf club head, comprising: providing a plate bodyhaving a first surface; disposing a low-elastic-modulus material on atleast a part of the first surface; heating and melting thelow-elastic-modulus material so that at lease a part of thelow-elastic-modulus material penetrates into the plate body; andannealing the low-elastic-modulus material to form at least alow-elastic-modulus region, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region has asecond surface exposed to the outside, and the first surface of theplate body and the second surface of the low-elastic-modulus regiontogether form a striking surface, and the elastic modulus of thelow-elastic-modulus region is smaller than that of the plate body. 26.The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 25,wherein heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material comprisesirradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with a high-energy laserbeam.
 27. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim25, wherein heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus materialcomprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with an electronbeam.
 28. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim25, further comprising performing a surface treatment process on thestriking surface after the low-elastic-modulus region is formed so thatan extension surface of the first surface of the plate body over thelow-elastic-modulus region is coplanar with the second surface of thelow-elastic-modulus region.
 29. The method of fabricating a strikingplate according to claim 28, wherein the surface treatment processcomprises a grinding process.
 30. The method of fabricating a strikingplate according to claim 28, wherein the surface treatment processcomprises a polishing process.
 31. The method of fabricating a strikingplate according to claim 25, wherein the plate body and thelow-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.
 32. The methodof fabricating a striking plate according to claim 31, wherein the platebody comprises a titanium alloy.
 33. The method of fabricating astriking plate according to claim 31, wherein the low-elastic-modulusregion comprises a β-type titanium alloy.
 34. The method of fabricatinga striking plate according to claim 33, wherein the low-elastic-modulusregion comprises a Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76%titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in weightpercentage composition.